US 2004/0118886 discloses a load carrier of the type introduced above, but has an upper fixed clamping jaw and a movable hook with a lower clamping jaw that cooperates with a lever to clamp the movable hook in such way that the clamping jaws being moved towards each other and the load carrier foot being firmly clamped to a roof rail of a vehicle.
Another known load carrier is described in US 2004/0074939. This load carrier also comprises an upper fixed clamping jaw and a movable hook with a lower clamping jaw that cooperates with a lever to clamp the movable hook in such way that the clamping jaws are moved towards each other and the load carrier foot is firmly clamped at a roof rail of a vehicle. In a mounting position, the movable hook may be arranged essentially vertically, which in turn means that the load carrier is mounted vertically towards the roof rail.
The problem with load carriers of the design described immediately above is that it may be difficult to arrange the load carrier so that the load carrier foot at each end of the load carrier bar properly grips around respective roof rails. Often the load carrier must be moved diagonally between two parallel roof rails and thereafter moved along one of the rails in such way that the load carrier bar will essentially become perpendicular to the roof rails. This movement may cause scratches on the roof rails. In addition, it may happen that the movable hook hits the roof of the vehicle during mounting and may then cause damage. In connection with lower roof rails, it is a risk that included movable hooks can hit the roof of the vehicle, causing undesired damage.